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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · chest · club · kid · stem · foot

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kid — child
  5. club — for golf
  6. kid — to tease
  7. club — for dancing
  8. foot — a measure
  9. chest — of your body
  10. toast — bread
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chest — a box
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. club — a group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com